A principle that guides and standardizes accounting practices. The Generally Accepted Accounting Principle (GAAP) are a group of accounting standards that are widely accepted as appropriate to the field of accounting. Accounting standards are important so that financial statements are meaningful across a wide variety of businesses; otherwise, the accounting formula of different companies would make comparative analysis almost impA company's total revenue, calculated according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and includes the explicit costs of doing business, such as depreciation, interest and taxes.